Time spent educating children is time that is never wasted. Unfortunately, despite school teachers and the school faculties best intentions, it’s difficult to fit in every lesson at school that it takes to become a responsible, sensible person in later life . Kids have a lot to deal with, not only growing up and coming to terms with their identity, but also increasing levels of responsibility as the years pass on.

Filling your child’s head with knowledge is fantastic, and will surely help them in later life. But giving them guiding principles to live by through inspiration and demonstration is more valuable than anything you can tell your kids. So how do you kindle this burning fire of curiosity that children seem to so naturally emanate? Here is a list of 6 different methods you can use to not only teach your child or pupils positive life lessons, but to bond with them as well.

Take an interest in them.

Kids are naturally attention hungry, especially from those they rely on. If you water them with this special ingredient of available openness, listen to what they’d like to achieve in life, and stimulate a few ideas based off of what they say, you can really open their mind from an incredibly young age.

For example, let’s say your daughter says she’d like to ride horses and play with ponies all day when she’s older. Perhaps you could suggest she’d like to be a vet, and help all animals who are poorly feel better! Or perhaps she’d like to open a sanctuary for horses and donkeys. Sit back and watch as her eyes widen with excitement. Keep this up and she’ll start believing she can do anything, which, of course is absolutely true.

Help them envision their future life.

Helping a child envision their future life is something that is immensely beneficial to opening up their horizons. Of course there’s no need to come to concrete answers, and this exercise should be fundamentally fun. However, sometimes it’s great to stimulate their imagination. For example, you could ask what sort of pets they’d like as an adult, what countries they’d like to visit, or you could go to a website like Pink Realty to give them an idea of the house he or she would like to throw family parties in one day.

Show them the benefits of saving money.

Kids are impulsive, and most adults are too. It’s a good idea to show them, through subtle, unintrusive ways, the best way to manage money effectively. You don’t have to sit them down and teach them the finer methods of understanding balance sheets, but perhaps giving them a small allowance to earn (if old enough,) and letting them spend it once a month only will teach them the value of saving in order to acquire higher value items, or replacing items they didn’t think they lost. You can also tell them in a way that will make them proud of you how your savings have helped you pay for unexpected bills etc, and they will slowly (hopefully) start emulating your habits in their teenage and young adult years.

These three combined steps will not only help your child begin good habits in a way that will bring you closer together and give them a slight understanding of how you run your family, but they will desire to emulate you. Kids are impressionable, so make sure to use this to their advantage.

This will hopefully provide the correct attitude that will stop them making big mistakes in adulthood. You can be sure then that you’ve covered at least some of the bases your tough job of parenthood requires you to address.

People say that knowledge is power, but what if you don’t posses the knowledge you need to succeed? The unfortunate answer is that you won’t succeed, at least not to the level that you desire. If that is a scary thought, it gets even scarier when you apply it to your children. Every parent wants their kids to lead a happy and prosperous life, so every parent needs to impart wisdom along the way. There are some things that they don’t teach at school, and that is where you step in and fill in the gaps. Finance is probably the best example, which is why you’ll find the best financial tips to teach your kids below.

Wait For The Right Moment

Kids are impulsive and want everything as soon as possible. Hell, there are a lot of adults that fit into that category too. But, there is a problem with this way of thinking: it leads you to make financial mistakes. Have you ever wondered why some people are in mountains of debt? The easy answer is that they have bitten off more than they can chew. Of course, everyone wants nice things like a car or a house, but they shouldn’t come at the expense of a family’s future. The sooner children learn they have to wait, the better the decisions they will make with in the future.

The big decisions aren’t ones to fear; they are ones to cherish. The great thing about making big decisions is that they often have the biggest rewards. Take buying a house as an example. To buy one, most people need to take out a mortgage. Since the crash in 2008, the term mortgage isn’t one that fills people with trust. In fact, lots of people think that a mortgage is a bad idea. The truth is that a mortgage is essential as long as you understand it inside and out. Nowadays, that is a lot easier to do when you go online at CalMtg.com and other mortgage professionals. With the right amount of patience and confidence, your children’s finances will never be in doubt.

Okay, so it isn’t a great time to save especially now interest rates are lower than before. Still, there will come a time when they will rise, and your children will want to take advantage. Although spending is more fun, saving is the practical option. It is the financial tip that will ensure your kids will always have money for a rainy day. Excuse the cliché, but it is true. Parents can’t always bail their kids out when they are in too deep, and kids need to learn this important life lesson. Putting away a little every month is a great way to create a buffer, and if it doesn’t come in handy they can spend it on a holiday.

The above is only a small glimpse into the big bad world of finance. Even so, a little bit of knowledge can go a long way.

It is astounding that with the amount of focus that we place on money, as a society, that money management is not taught in all schools. When we look back on our youth, we never thought of money as important at all. In my 30’s I look back at just ten years ago and didn’t view money as all that important! As the magical overdraft would help me get my cash from the machine and the credit card as free money. In hindsight, this was a bad attitude to have. As I now have mounting debt that I could do without. The pressure to do more grown up things becomes more apparent. Buying a house, planning a wedding, the increase in fuel costs. These are all things that are tagged with the notion of being an adult. The shock of money responsibility just seemed to be slammed down in front of you as soon as you left university or gained full-time employment. So is there a way to help bridge the gap between a child and adult when it comes to money management?

Toddlers
When it comes to teaching toddlers the value of money, the best approach is to use a visual stimulus. The typical method is to use a piggy bank, which is an excellent idea in theory, but the child can’t see the money amounting. So the fruits of their labors go unnoticed. Seeing a jar fill up with coins and talking to them about how much more they’ve got than yesterday is a nice way to reinforce the idea of saving.

Young Children (8 and over)
The best method for young children and tweens is to let them make decisions about their choices in terms of what to buy. For example, if they wanted two items but can only afford to buy one, they need to make the decision. If they are unhappy with the outcome, then they have made their bed and must lie in it.

They also need to learn at this age that money is earned, not just given out. A simple method of teaching this is to reward them for doing household chores. Based on the task, you can give them more or less money. That way, the concept of pay grades is also introduced.

Teenagers
If you have been able to reinforce some of the previous values at certain stages of their life, then helping them get a bank account is the next logical step. Having their own bank account that they can withdraw money from and are solely responsible for will teach them how to manage their money. If your child hasn’t got a bank account yet, you can apply for new bank account here now. And, as a consequence, if they run out of financial resources, they would need to get a job. That marks their first foray into adulthood.

All ages have their own attitude towards money. So in teaching them the value of it on a level that they can understand, whether by visual stimulus or making sure they know the repercussions of overspending, it will go a long way to instilling the values and responsibility of money management.

We were delighted to hear that The Financial Fairy Tales: The Last Gold Coin has received a Pinnacle Book Award in the category of children’s interest.

The Last Gold Coin tells the story of a prince who inherits a once prosperous kingdom now in ruins. How did the people react once the gold ran out and who did they turn to for help? How does an act of kindness repay itself and what is the magic of the last gold coin?

Designed to teach children important messages around charity, saving and even compound interest – The Last Gold Coin is a fun and inspirational read for children up to the age of 12

The third book in the Financial Fairy Tales series is The Last Gold Coin. The story revolves around a prince who inherits a once prosperous kingdom close to ruin. The people look for others to blame and lack the skills or desire to take responsibility. While a simple act of kindness has magical consequences for the prince and his future.

In many ways its a case of life imitating art with the recent financial troubles in Ireland, Greece and other places around the world.

Enjoy this exclusive sample followed by ideas to help your children learn about money:

The Kingdom of Arum was a prosperous land full of gold. The citizens spent their lives digging the precious metal from the ground and filling their vaults with treasure.

As gold was very valuable, the people of Arum found themselves wealthy, although many of them became greedy and selfish.

They always spent and never saved. Worse, they never shared their wealth. There was always more gold to be found in the ground, so the people had few worries.

Until one day the gold ran out!

Not even King Henry, the most skilled miner in the Kingdom, could find a single nugget of the precious metal.

Thankfully, King Henry and his wife, Queen Alice, were wise. They advised their citizens to save their gold and use it sparingly.

The people of Arum didn’t listen; they frittered away their wealth until they had nothing left.

King Henry was saddened by his people’s carelessness. He gave away a lot of his money but every day the people returned to the castle gates, begging for more.

He was determined that his only son, Prince Leon, would never become so foolish. He taught Leon how to save his money and how to bargain well. He taught him how to share his money with those in need, who wouldn’t waste it.

He wanted to be sure that one day his son would be a wise ruler. So Henry sent Leon to explore the Land of Argent, instructing him to come back in a year’s time. It was King Henry’s hope that his son would learn the ways of the neighbouring Kingdoms and thus learn how to reverse the folly that overcame Arum.

Prince Leon travelled the world with one purse of gold, spending it only when necessary. He bought food and shelter and was content to live simply. During his travels, he learned many valuable skills, how to farm, to weave and to carve wood. When the year came to a close, he headed home.

When he was only a day’s journey away from Arum, he came across a frail old woman. She sat in tattered clothing against the side of an inn, holding an empty cup.

“Please sir, I’ve been robbed. Could you spare a coin so I can eat?”

Although she asked several people, everyone passed her by.

Prince Leon noticed the bruises on her face and the hole in her purse and realised the woman spoke the truth and really did need his help. So, he placed his last three coins in her cup.

The wizened lady held his hand in hers and, to his surprise, she transformed. The old woman turned into a beautiful maiden before his eyes and she blessed him before disappearing into the night.